Bike path's 'missing link' poses problems for neighbors, bikers

People walk and ride along a quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system.MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – City officials and residents are trying to figure out what to do with a "missing link" in the city's bicycle path network.

The issue of contention for residents lies in a quarter-mile segment along Santiago Creek.

The unpaved walking trail is called a "guerilla path" by neighbors, and some wish to see the section turned into a paved path that would connect Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park via a trail that passes under I-5.

"The 5 freeway divides our community in half," said Bruce Bauer, a West Floral Park resident involved with the Santiago Creek Greenway Alliance, which supports the establishment of a trail system along the creek. "We're separated from the mall, the park ... and that quarter mile is a link to all of that."

The city completed a bike lane in 2011 along Memory Lane between Flower and Bristol streets, leaving two short segments – from the 5 to Flower Street and from Bristol Street to the Santa Ana River Trail – needed to complete the Santiago Creek Trail.

Bauer cites a high obesity rate in Santa Ana and the possibility of bicyclist fatalities as reasons to build a trail along the creek, rather than requiring bikers to circumnavigate on the streets.

Trail opponents, headed by an organization called the Save Santiago Creek Alliance, argue that the proposed path will increase crime, require the city to take private property by eminent domain, cost too much money to build and harm the creek environment.

"The building of a Class I bike trail is an anti-green act that will result in the destruction of one of the few remaining wild greenways in Orange County," said Ronald Salem, community liaison for the Save Santiago Creek Alliance.

Neighbors are concerned about transients, trespassing and graffiti; opponents believe that building a bike trail will increase crime.

"Bike trails have not eliminated these issues in Orange, and bike trails will not eliminate them here," Salem said.

The process to amend the city's master plan requires extensive public involvement and ultimately a decision by the City Council. The city has contracted with IBI Group to assist in preparing the update to evaluate the bike trails.

The city previewed a draft bikeway master plan concept at public workshops held Oct. 10 and Oct. 13, said Karen Haluza, city planning manager.

The draft diagram did not include a connection through Santiago Creek, but rather an on-street route to connect from Main Street to Santa Clara to Flower and then to Memory. Based on feedback, the staff recommended studying the alternate connection through Santiago Creek, Haluza said.

"We are hopeful that our objections were heard," Bauer said. The bike trail "is a terrible idea from a public safety standpoint," he said. "It's ridiculously unsafe."

Building a trail along the creek would require the city to take property by eminent domain, according to a memo posted in January by City Manager Paul Walters.

Related Links

People walk and ride along a quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Spray paint cans lay in Santiago Creek in Santa Ana along a quarter-mile section of trail that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A view looking east along Santiago Creek toward the 5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over a "missing link" in the bike trail system. A quarter-mile section along Santiago Creek in Santa Ana, that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park is a rough, winding, unpaved walking trail. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A trail that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park passes under the 5 freeway along Santiago Creek in Santa Ana. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A man walks along a quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
One of many signs posted along a quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A section of the quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A trail under the 5 freeway next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park. From here the winding, unpaved walking trail passes through dense brush and has Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A spray painted palm tree along a section of the quarter-mile trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A section of the quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Two women walk through Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. Just beyond the playground is a quarter-mile section of trail that runs next to Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Two women walk through Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. Just beyond the playground is a quarter-mile section of trail that runs next to Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The gate from Jack Fisher Park that leads to a quarter-mile section of trail that runs next to Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A man walks under the 5 freeway along a quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail passes through dense brush and has Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A man walks along a quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes under I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A section of the quarter-mile section of trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes through dense brush and under the I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Graffiti on a wall along a section of the quarter-mile trail next to the Santiago Creek in Santa Ana that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park Tuesday morning. The winding, unpaved walking trail also passes through dense brush and under the I-5 freeway. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts are battling over a "missing link" in the bike trail system. The quarter-mile section along Santiago Creek in Santa Ana connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park is a rough, winding, unpaved walking trail that also passes under I-5 freeway. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A trail that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park passes under the 5 freeway along Santiago Creek in Santa Ana. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A trail that connects Santiago Park to Jack Fisher Park passes under Main Street along Santiago Creek in Santa Ana. Santa Ana residents and bike trail enthusiasts battling over this unimproved "missing link" in the bike trail system. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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